


A Cure For Holiday Blues

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Confessions, First Kiss, Holiday Blues, Holidays, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 02:51:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13226604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: The December holidays aren’t always the best of times for the two K-Scientists, but they still have each other.





	A Cure For Holiday Blues

**Author's Note:**

> for missanthropicprinciple for the 2017 the pacrim holiday swap on Tumblr.
> 
> Enjoy!!

Normally, Christmas was supposed to be a happier time of year. In the Shatterdome, it was more like a respite, provided a Kaiju didn’t decide to appear. Still, the residents regarded the holiday with much cheer and festivities.

Most of them did anyway, save for two certain members of K-Sci.

They celebrated different holidays, though always with respect and tolerance for one another during them. With a war going on, and being busy attempting to stay on top of things, often it was the furthest things from their minds, though not entirely forgotten. That wasn’t the problem.

Being stationed at the Shatterdome, searching for the secrets of the Kaiju- it often seemed like they were some of the few left who actually cared- was what most of their days comprised of. The war kept them rooted to whatever Shatterdome they happened to be stationed at. They couldn’t take a leave to see family with the space between Kaiju attack growing smaller and smaller, not when their families were halfway across the world.

For Hermann, though had stopped talking to his father long ago, his siblings in Germany he still remained close to. Hermann missed them, and wished he could visit them, though he knew right now it was unlikely. He knew his lab partner and friend, Newt, also had family in Boston, in the States. Both were difficult to get to from their current location.

He could only imagine Newt missed his family as well. Newt was much more enthusiastic about Christmas, having shared a few stories of time with his family during this holiday from before the war. Although Hermann didn’t celebrate this particular holiday, he could sense that Newt had a strong connection with his father and uncle. He could understand if Newt was missing his family as much as Hermann missed his siblings. Sure, they could always call or email their respective families, but it wasn’t the same. Thus, this time of year was a bit harder on them both, whether it be Christmas or Hanukkah.

This year in particular held no cheer in the K-Science lab; the Kaiju had always made that difficult.

Progress on the foolish Wall was proceeding, as Hermann had expected. The thought that those cowards who were funding it thought it better to just hide behind a barrier frustrated him. It also wasn’t any easier when his father was one of those people. However, that also meant there were more cuts in funding to the Jaeger program, which affected K-Science as well. This year just seemed like the year of endless frustration as well, for both Hermann and Newt. On top of that, the last two Kaiju attacks that had occurred left bad memories. One had resulted in the loss of a Jaeger, and the other had nearly ended in defeat. Though that one had been a victory in the end, the pilots had been hurt pretty badly (though they would recover).

So this was not really a good year.

 

* * *

 

Hermann was on his way back from the mess hall, and trying to escape all the overly cheery people bound to get drunk on eggnog. When he got to the lab, he heard chatter; specifically Newt. His colleague was sitting at his desk on his side of the lab and talking on his phone. He didn’t seem to notice that Hermann had entered the lab.

“Yeah, I know. I wish I could have Christmas off for once, but the Kaiju aren’t making that easy.” Newt was saying to someone. He laughed but it sounded more like a nervous laugh. “I’m doing my best here, dad. Don’t worry; I’ll- yeah, I’ll be careful.” He ran his free hand through his hair. “Hey, I’m sorry I can’t make it back again. Tell uncle I said hi. Oh- yeah, I’ll tell him when I see him. Talk to you later, dad.”

Newt set his phone aside and leaned back in his chair. Hermann felt a pang of sympathy for his friend, knowing Newt would rather much like to be with his father and uncle on this upcoming holiday.

Hermann moved forward into the lab, intending now to make some tea. At the same time, he knew he alerted Newt to his presence.

“Oh, Hermann.” Newt said. “Didn’t notice you there. How long have you-”

“I just got here.” Hermann replied quickly. It wasn’t a lie; he’d only caught the tail of that conversation.

“Trying to escape the Christmas cheer?” Newt joked.

“You know I don’t celebrate Christmas.”

“I know, I know.”

Newt went quiet after that, and Hermann looked over at the other scientist as adjusted his glasses and opened up his laptop. Hermann noted he looked a bit upset, but he didn’t know if he should say anything, especially at the risk of letting Newt know he had overheard the conversation with his father. Letting him know that might upset him further.

So what he did instead was continue to make the tea, patiently waiting for the water to warm, and then for the tea to steep. When the tea was done he picked up the mug, walked over to Newt’s desk, and set the mug down in front of him.

Newt, who had since gone back to looking at something on his laptop, looked up at Hermann in surprise when he set the mug down. Newt gave him a smile and picked up the mug. Hermann decided to quietly give him one in return before returning to his own desk to do some work. It was the least he could do for Newt.

 

* * *

 

Things didn’t necessarily get better from there.

Later on in the day, Hermann received a call from his father; something he was dreading. He didn’t want to deal with this, but it was bound to happen.

He took the call, bracing himself for whatever his father had to say to him, but it followed the same course it always followed. Things started out relatively calm, but one thing lead to another, which lead to an argument. Eventually Hermann got tired of it and hung up. It was too close to the end of the year and he didn’t need this.

“Lars?” Newt asked sometime after a beat of silence had passed.

Hermann nodded, leaving his desk and heading over to his chalkboards. “Unfortunately. He’ll never get over the fact I decided to stay with the PPDC. Nor does he understand that I cannot just get up and leave to go back to Germany.”

“So, the usual. You good?”

“I’m fine.” Hermann grumbled, picking up the piece of chalk and getting to work. He didn’t necessarily want to talk about it, preferring to throw himself into his work instead to forget about it all. After all, numbers had always been an escape for him. They’d help him forget about everything and help him calm down, even if it was only a temporary peace.

 

* * *

 

Perhaps, in the end, they shouldn’t have stayed silent.

The day had continued on in a rare sort of quiet. It continued that was, until, of course, something had to break it.

They’d managed to get into a fight over something trivial, yet again. This time, however, it seemed more frustrating than usual. Part of that might have been the earlier conversation with his father had put him in a sour mood.

“No, no, no- You don’t understand.” Hermann tried to explain, getting every increasingly tried of this conversation. “It’s not that simple, Newton. There are many calculations, and many-”

“Yeah, yeah; I get it.” Newt replied, waving his hand dismissively. “But, dude, you’ve still got all the machines doing that hard work.”

“Its not just that, you fool! It’s not as simple as you seem to think.”

“Sure. You know, what I’m doing isn’t as easy as it looks ether.”

“What? Staring at dead alien corpses?”

Newt scowled at him. “Okay, what the hell is up with you? You’ve been more grumpy than usual.”

“Well, maybe I am.” Hermann huffed, turning away from Newt and back to his chalkboards.

“If this is about the little fake Christmas tree I have on my desk-”

“It’s not about the damn tree!”

“Wait… Is this about the call you had with your dad?”

Good. He seemed to be finally catching on. “And what if that’s the case?”

“I knew it.” Newt said. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but he’s a jerk. Forget about him; there’s cheer in the air.”

Hermann sighed, turning back to his colleague. “It’s complicated.”

“Hey, at least you’ve still got your siblings.”

“At least you still have family you can contact on a regular basis.”

“Okay, hold on-” Newt stepped out from behind his desk. “First off, I can’t leave to see my dad even if I wanted to, which sucks right about now ‘cause I’d like to be spending Christmas with him instead of stuck here. Second off, the point remains you still have your siblings.”

“I suppose that’s about all I have left.” Hermann muttered.

“What are you talking about?” Newt exclaimed. “That’s not true! That’s not the only thing! You’ve got me!”

“You?” Hermann echoed.

“Of course. I mean, I don’t know if you noticed but I’m kinda in love with you!”

Silence fell between them, and Newt stared at Hermann, realizing what he had just said. Newt looked surprised by himself, although Hermann was just as stunned..

He had, for some time, held feelings for Newt; more than what it may seem on the outside. He cared for Newt, more than just simply cared, really. It was something he supposed had always been there, since the letters, but he had never acted on it before. Mostly it was because he thought there was no chance that Newt would ever return his feelings. He didn’t expect that Newt would possibly feel the same for him.

But Newt had now just admitted it, and had also effectively rendered Hermann speechless.

“I… I’m not sure what to say.” Hermann finally managed.

“Say anything?” Newt tried. His glance shifted from side to side until he gave a frustrating sigh and took a step forward. “Look, it just came out and I- I was just saying it before I could stop myself-”

“Newton- Newt.”

Hermann left his chalkboard and moved forward to Newt.

“I had no idea you felt that way.” He started. “Do… Do you mean that?”

“Y-Yeah.” Newt nodded. “I know I do. I-I have for a long time. That’s why I said that you’ve got me. I’m always gonna be here for you, dude; no matter what, even if you hate me for what I just said. You mean so much more to me than you know.”

“Newt. I… I don’t hate you. I couldn’t just because you said something like that.” with his free hand, he reached out and took Newt’s. “The truth is that… that I’ve felt the same about you for quite some time.” He tried a smile. “I’m not too terribly good at expressing them though.”

The biologist stared up at him, a smile tugging at his lips. “That- A-Are you sure? I mean I know I can be a-”

But Hermann caught him off guard by pulling Newt forward and giving him a kiss. Newt returned it after a moment, putting his arms around Hermann. They continued, and Hermann went with it; caught up in the moment. They eventually had to part, but Hermann was smiling when they did, his eyes still closed.

“I am sure.” Hermann said softly. He drew in a breath before continuing. “I’m sorry for arguing with you. You are, for once right; the call from my father was troubling me. That and I miss my siblings. Your confession- it helped more than you think. It means a lot for you to say.”

“Aw, geez, Herms.” Newt chuckled. “I know how you feel though. Wanna take a break and talk about it? I could use someone to vent my frustrations to, ‘cause I’ve been feeling kinda down about not being able to see my dad.”

Hermann opened his eyes. “Yes. That might help. It’s a tough time of year for both of us.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention- my dad called earlier. He told me to tell you “hi” and “happy Hanukkah”.”

“It’s two days past the end of Hanukkah, but I appreciate the thought. Pass along my thanks to your father when you get the chance.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. And, ah, maybe we can just sit on the couch for a bit and I can kiss you a bit?”

“Perhaps.”


End file.
